UAB

A national news story may help to spark change in Tuscaloosa. Work is underway to offer a new service following the suicide of former University of Alabama student Megan Rondini. APR Student reporter Katie Willem has more on the program called SANE…

“Have you ever seen a SANE facility before? Let’s do that. Yeah, let’s do that.”

That’s Meg McGlamery. She’s the Executive Director at the Crisis Center in Birmingham. This includes what’s called a SANE facility. SANE is short for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. One of the first things you notice is the art on the walls.   

Alabama Senators will be debating how to divvy up the state’s portion of oil spill settlement money amid a looming hole in the Medicaid budget.

The Alabama Senate is expected to take up the settlement bill today. A version of the legislation passed the House last week. Debate on the Senate floor could get contentious, though, as Senators can’t seem to agree on how much money should help Medicaid and how much should go toward road projects on the Alabama coast.

Four years and eight years probation.  That is the sentenced handed down to Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard after being convicted of twelve of twenty-three felony ethics charges last month.

The State says Hubbard improperly solicited lobbyists and company executives for consulting contracts and using his political office to benefit his clients.                      

Defense Lawyer Bill Baxley defended Hubbard’s Character after the sentenced was delivered….

The mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando is one topic likely to come up tonight in the city of Florence.

Shoals Pride Fest is underway and a panel discussion will address equality for the LGBT community in Alabama. Organizers say the attack at the Pulse nightclub in Central Florida has left many in the Shoals gay community hurting. Pride Fest President Benjamin Newbern says tonight’s panel discussion will also venture into political issues as well…

A state lawmaker says he has enough signatures to re-ignite an impeachment effort against Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley.

Republican Rep. Ed Henry says he’s obtained 23 signatures on impeachment articles.

The announcement came after the House passed a rule change requiring 21 votes to start an impeachment investigation. That thwarted Henry's earlier effort with 11 signatures.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is one of five institutions that are researching the possibility of using genetically modified pig tissue for human kidney transplants.

UAB is receiving a $19.5 million grant from United Therapeutics Corp. to begin a xenotransplantation program. School officials announced the five-year grant on Friday.

UAB is a leading kidney transplant center, and the program aims to transplant genetically modified kidneys created from pig tissue within five years.

Fairfield city leaders have voted to dissolve the city's police department as leaders look to address financial hardships, but the mayor says city council has no authority to make that decision.

The Fairfield City Council voted 4-0 to disband the police department during a meeting Friday. A resolution to disband the department failed in a 3-3 vote earlier this week.

Former Alabama first lady Dianne Bentley told a judge that she and her husband's "likes, dislikes and lifestyles" have become so different that it caused discord and arguments in their home.

Her sworn testimony was unsealed Tuesday with other documents in Gov. Robert Bentley's divorce.

Dianne Bentley said that she and the governor had become incompatible and that a divorce was in the best interest of their family.

Over 1200 high school students will be watching the Alabama Supreme Court firsthand today.

The state’s highest court will hear cases in Huntsville as part of an effort to take the justices on the road.

Mary Ena Heath is a Huntsville attorney and professor who helped coordinate the visit. She says many people are uninformed about how the Supreme Court does its job, so this is a good opportunity to see the court at work.

During the next week nearly a third of the Republicans who want to be President will be in Alabama. 

Alabama’s Governor Robert Bentley endorsed Ohio’s Governor John Kasich earlier this week. Tonight the G-O-P front runner, businessman Donald Trump will be in Mobile where he is expected to draw a crowd of nearly thirty thousand.

Terry Lathan is the Chairwoman of the Alabama G-O-P. She says Alabama is a key to the South…

Teenagers in the Birmingham area can brush up on safe driving techniques starting today. Triple-A Alabama is holding a class for young motorists at its headquarters on Acton Road. The focus will be on defensive driving, which means watching out for what other motorists are doing. Another big topic is for young drivers to stop texting while they’re behind the wheel. Triple-A spokesman Clay Ingram says that’s often the most challenging lesson…

The University of Alabama Birmingham is launching a network to help advance more women to positions of leadership in higher education.

Officials say the new Alabama Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education is part of the American Council on Education (ACE) Women's Network. That’s a national system identifying leaders in higher education and connecting them to support and development networks.

News that the University of Alabama in Birmingham would reinstate the UAB Blazers football team allowed fans to breathe a sigh of relief. Now the fine print is sinking in. As APR’s MacKenzie Bates takes a look at the price tag of saving the UAB Blazers from the perspective of someone who’s seen the team from the inside out…

“Given the broad base of support never before seen, as of today, we are taking steps to reinstate the football, rifle and bowling programs.”

Football, Bowling and Rifle are coming back to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

President Doctor Ray Watts decided Monday morning to reverse the earlier decision after meetings with UAB supporters went through the weekend. 

Doctor Watts announced six months ago the University could not support the football, bowling and rifle programs due to financial reasons.  UAB commissioned a report saying it would cost $49 million over five years to field a competitive program.

Engineering students from Alabama are helping NASA design ways to dig for minerals on other planets. The agency’s Robotics Mining Competition begins this morning at the Kennedy Space Center.  Students from the University of Alabama and Shelton State Community College have built a robot digger for the competition.

Dr. Kenneth Ricks is an associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering.  He says this is robotics mining competition puts his team up against some of the best programs on the planet…

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are hoping to learn more about a deadly fungal infection called Cryptococcus.  The germs are inhaled at a young age and are present in most people.  And most people handle it just fine.  But in some it can develop into fungal meningitis that can be fatal.  UAB professor of medicine Peter Pappas says people with compromised immune systems are the highest risk. 

New research out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham has found an HIV prevention method for women is safe.  The early phase one trial tested out new intravaginal rings carrying two anti-HIV drugs.  Women who used the rings for a month found them acceptable and one of the drugs was detected later.  Unfortunately, the other wasn’t.  But Craig Hoesley, a doctor and professor of medicine who oversaw the trial, said the results were encouraging.  He says other HIV prevention methods like condoms are useful.